Venecia!

Madonna Mia! So the next stop was Venice, and after a fantastic time in Paris, Venice had a lot to live up to. Oh its beautiful and all, but I am not quite sure we even saw any Italians! I don´t really remember it being that way last time I went, but we seemed to be constantly surrounded by tourists no matter where we went. And OLD tourists at that! We found ourselves saying "where´s the cool bars?" like a couple of nerds looking for a party that they weren´t invited to. It was nice to relax a bit after a pretty busy time in Paris.

When I say relax I don´t mean yoga and meditation, I mean more like sitting in Campo Santa Magarita watching the world go by whilst sipping on several tasty beverages. Here we are in said campo with an olive from said beverage.

We realised in Venice that we had both packed rather stupidly, more for a carribbean beach getaway than for freezing autumn weather. I left Sevilla with still 30 deg tempertaures, thinking that the temp couldn´t vary that dramatically in a neighbouring country (wrong).

We had an AMAZING meal at a recommended restaurant, so authentic that the menu was only in Italian (OK so at this place there were Italians...and thats IT!) and we didn´t understand a word. And so authentic that the bitchy waitress wouldn´t help us chose!! We realised after lots of charades that the meals were for 2 peope to share so we got ourselves a big mother plate of this spagetti scampi (someone else was eating it, throw the menu away - no comprendo!) a big jug of wine and of course, the only italian dessert that never disappoints - a heavenly panacotta. (which we STUPIDLY shared thinking we were full and may I note here that I looked away for one second at Tula had inhaled far more than her half in one scoffing - bitch).

Here we are so proud with our yummy spagetti scampi.

Tula Trip

So the trip is OVER and its so depressing but man Tula and I had a damn good time! Travelling is fun, travelling with a best pal is fun, drinking everyday is fun!

So the trip started in Paris, I flew to paris from Sevilla and Tula flew to Paris from Sydney. A very glamorous place to meet methinks. Tula arrived earlier in the day and was waiting for me in the hostal room. Our reunion sure was emotional NOT. Of course we did some screaming and hugging and jumping and then I exclaimed ever so subtly "THIS ROOM STINKS" Tula said it was her and I said it couldn´t possibly be, she said she hadn´t showered yet from the 30 hour flight, went out earlier and had 3 glasses of wine (good aussie) and then had been sleeping with the window closed for 6 hours. I still didn´t believe her as the stench was so foul, but low and behold, windows open, Tula showered, the room - fresh as a daisy. That Tula, she´s cute but man can she build up a stink!

Poor love was a bit messed up from the flight, and after a lovely first night dinner and lots of wine and champers, we finally went to bed and like friends who haven´t seen each other for ages couldn´t stop giggling, our neighbours banged on the door for us to shut the hell up and of course that made us giggle even more, I then exclaimed that it was 3 and we should try and be nice and Tula exclaimed "What, three AM???" As it was dark outside and we were in bed I don´t know how she could possibly confuse AM with PM but maybe the trip from OZ does that to you - makes you stupid. Here is Tula in the stinked out room showing me the pillow we had to share that looked like a sausage.

I really love Paris, I have been there before a couple of years ago with my Mum and we had a great time too. The french are no meaner than any aussie rushing down george street being stopped by a japanese asking for directions. We did have one waitress on the first night that was awful. She was so awful we couldn´t stop laughing and the more awful she was the more we loved it. French. Mean. Love it GIVE US MORE BITCH!!!

We met up with my french friend Camille who I met last summer in Bilbao, she is so great and speaks english AND spanish with a cool french accent. She has even been to OZ and loved it so she rocks. Here we are at this cool bar she took us to where we dranks cocktails bigger than our heads. Love this girl!

One of our favourite Parisian meals was this fun place, where you order a set menu that consists of making your own salad from a big basket of raw vegetables and salad item that sits on your table. I thought this was fun, Tula wasn´t so down with a D.I.Y meal that cost 40euros. Then you can go to the buffet where you chose from a display of dubious undescribable things. Tula said the buffet smelt like fart but don´t trust the stinky girl I say. Probably what makes all this bearable is the fact that there are big barrels all around the place where you can fill up your jug with red wine. Unlimited amounts of red wine! An aussie group bigger than us 2 would have drunk that place DRY! After the entrees you get your choice of a slab of meat, then after that a humongous cheese platter, that is impossible to finish.

Here is Tula coming back with our second jug, the effects of the first jug obvious and with Tula slipping into something more comfortable - notably her brickies labourer singlet. Perfect attire for a night out on the town.

One thing I wanted to do on my 2nd trip back to Paris was got to the catacombes, I didn´t get to go with Mum and the sound of underground tunnels filled with bones sounded cool to me. It was so spooky! Undeground tunnels used in the resistence (I forget what that means exactly - sorry Mum there were so many bones I couldn´t concentrate!) which mirror the parisian streets above. Well after the resistence, they were unused so when they had to exhume a Parisian cemetry they filledl the tunnels with the bones. It was all a big mess of bones until one guy (don´t know who -the bones the bones!) decided to arrange them in a tourist friendly fashion. The result is spooky and cool. Lots of skulls and bones. Here is Tula making like a skull.

More skeletons and on to the Chateau of Versaille another thing i didn´t go to with Mum. It was quite beautiful but call us simple, we wanted to see the palace as it could have been in its day, with manequins of servants and the king at the table, all robots and moving just as they would have. Just like at Old Sydney Town.... OK OK we´re simple but Marie Antoinette´s bed had plastic on it! Authentic my ASS! This skeleton was on display in the gardens which were pretty impressive. Cool huge skelton.

We loved the gardens and hired bikes to cruise around in style, they were imense and 20 times bigger than the palace.

The worse thing about Paris was leaving it... we were flying from Beauvais Airport which is in the middle of nowhere, avoid it at all costs. We got to the place where the bus left from. Unfortunately the bus means exactly that. There is ONE bus that coincides with your flight that leaves from Paris and of course we had just missed it. The next one left in 3 hours, so we had had no other option but to get a taxi the 90kms to the airport 90KMS IN A TAXI! I COULD HAVE BOUGHT THE RED BOOTS!!!!! So after a 120euro cab ride we made our flight to Venice. stupid beauvais airport. i can´t even spell your stupid name. I love you Paris. I hate you Beauvais.

Bad Blogger

So before I blog about my trip with the Tula I will blog about my weekend. It will probably be a very boring blog because it was a very boring weekend.
Marcos left for NY on Saturday, he is gone for 10 days of fun with his cousin although he sent me a text on the first day that read "just walked 3 hours to get to this sordid hotel (his english is SO improving!) NYC is not so cool, Sidney is better." Yay Sidney! Hold on...SIDNEY he can´t even spell it right!!!!!!! Oh so he knows how to say SORDID but not SYDNEY! BAD SPELLER BAD BOYFRIEND!!!
So... on Saturday night, being all alone, I accepted a job being a "hostess" at a climate change conference that was being held here in Seville, to which Al Gore was going to attend. I didn´t really know what being a "hostess" required but having nothing the hell else to do I decided I didn´t care. I got to wear a black business suit, blue scarf, sheer stockings and heels. I felt like an air hostess!! So Glam!! (I am saving it to be my halloween costume). On arrival to the conference I was told that we will be working at the "dinner" not the conference. Then basically all I had to do was tell the people to get on the buses, count them as they got on...and THATS IT! THEN I had to wait, WATCH them enjoy a dancing horse show (el caballo blanco eat your heart out) a bit of flamenco dancing, enjoy a beautiful 3 course meal and get blind drunk. Yes I had to WATCH THEM, all the while standing, and giving directions to the dunnies (toilets) if needed. Oh I was waiting for someone to ask me where the toilet was..all night, it was the hightlight of my duties. I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO BORED IN MY LIFE. If I wasn´t in the middle of nowhere I would have run right out of there. Al Gore didn´t even attend the dinner so I didn´t even get to see him! And whats worse they told me he flew to Valencia on his PRIVATE JET! Um excuse me but isn´t this a conference on CLIMATE CHANGE? and aren´t private planes BAD? I was so bored I wanted to cry. (I really hate being bored) The only thing that kept me going was that I couldn´t stop farting...all night. Don´t know why but maybe my body was also bored and wanted to amuse itself.... they weren´t smelly thank god, but loud! So all I could do to fill in time was try to control myself and release when the coast was clear. Tough night at the office let me tell ya. So then at the end of the night I had to stand by the buses and count the people in. I am NEVER EVER doing that again. B-O-R-I-N-G.

The river

Every morning I cross the river on my bike to go to work, its a nice ride to work and when I see the river on a particularly pretty morning it always puts me in a chipper mood. I took a pic this morning. So here it is.

Photos of The Snail Family

I would like to introduce to you to The Snail family. After we painted them, the next day we didn´t see any, we were scared we killed them all!! but bit by bit they all re-appeared, and more empty ones just keep on comin!

Here is Bob, he stayed like this for 2 days! He must´ve been really tired, we thought he was dead but on day 3 he was up and moving again!

And whitey!! With the flash he looks like a glowing ball! He is doing some sliding down the leaf slippery slide. Fun!

Lola is secretly our favourite one. She was the first one painted so we have a soft spot for her.

Sarah, we fit your name on one!!! But sorry, you are a bit gross and have left behind an unsightly trail of slime.

And here are a whole heap of them together having a little snooze during the day! Happy snail family!

Last night I saw 2 little teeny tiny ones! Little babies! I named its mother P after my pal Pennie, but I messed up the P, it looks like a lollypop, so Marcos has to fix it, but P is the mother of these little cuties!!! So tiny!

Snail Family

So my apartment is located in a block that has 2 typical andalucian patios inside, you enter the block through the street door and are greeted by a big beautiful patio, you walk up to the back corner and there is another little patio which sits directly in front of our apartment. Both patios have lots of pots with plants growing wildly, but the one that sits in front of ours has a lot more pots and plants and is more private as we are the only ones that ever need to go through it.

So in the evening we have to dodge lots of slow moving snails that cross the patio in search of a change of scene or a certain someone. YES WE SAW SNAILS SHAGGING!!!!
Anyway Marcos bought home some liquid paper from work and we´ve been giving them all identities so we can get to know which one is which!!! (Is it cruel to paint on snails? I am torn between the correctness of it all!!??) I thought Marcos was gonna just put a small dot on them, 2 small dots on another but when I came home he had already started (its really his idea – I think it may be cruel but I don´t know why so I am enjoying it but keeping away in case the RSPC gets called) and he showed me “Lola” named after a friend from work with a BIG L.O.L.A scrawled over her shell. Poor Lola.

We are mostly naming them after friends except for one poor little critter, that Marcos came in with and said “Look!!!! I named one Mick!!!! And I said “No you didn´t – you wrote Mike” and he said, “No it says Mi…OH NO!!!!!” So now we have a misnamed snail. We named another one Mick though, so now we have, Mick, Mike, (Poor Mike – got the wrong name) Amy, Lola, Tula and one really small one that started off as number 7 cause nothing else would fit but Marcos fucked up the number so now he is called whitey called Marcos just made his whole shell white to cover the mess. Hmmm maybe it is cruel. But this morning we saw Lola and we said “Oh Hello Lola!!!” – Marcos screamed, “Look Kristy, Lola´s out!” Maybe she is the only one that survived the liquid paper poisoning of their sensitive shells?

I asked the people at work if they think its cruel and they all say no way! (They seem so sure?) Iciar, even said that we should use glow in the dark paint instead so we can find them better at night!!! Now THAT’S cruel!!! They´ll be blinded by the neon in their sensitive teeny tiny eyes.

So next Tuesday I am leaving sunny sevilla for my adventure with Tula!!! Can´t wait!!! We are meeting in Paris, then flying to Venice then to Barcelona then back to Sevilla. A girly holiday is going to be great and just what I need before I start the long road to saving for Las Vegas 2008!! (Jody´s wedding) America is expensive!!

I´ll see if I can update on the road! I hope the snails are OK while I am gone.
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